The iPhone 5C: Apple’s first ever mid-range phone revealed
Apple officially announces its colourful, plastic-bodied, more affordably-priced iPhone
Alongside the new flagship iPhone 5S, Apple today launched the iPhone 5C, the company’s first ever mid-range iPhone.
There were few surprises to be had at the Apple Campus in Cupertino, California, as the iPhone 5C is probably one of the most leaked phones in history – and most of the predictions from the past few months turned out to be on the money.
iPhone 5C specs in a plastic body
The 5C has a 4in glass screen with the same 1136 x 640 Retina display resolution as the iPhone 5 and 5S. But where the last few iPhone models have used metal and glass for the outer shell, the iPhone 5C’s exterior is mostly made from one single piece of hard-coated polycarbonate, harking back to the 3GS. That’s over a reinforced steel structure. It’ll come in five colours: yellow, red, blue, white and green.
The internals are much the same as the iPhone 5’s: A6 dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, LTE 4G support and a choice of 16GB or 32GB storage capacities. The rear camera is also the same 8MP, single LED flash model used by the iPhone 5. The front Facetime HD camera is reportedly better in low light, however, due to larger pixel size.
Available from £470
So the iPhone 5C is, essentially, a plastic-bodied iPhone 5 that comes with iOS 7 pre-installed. The big deal here is the price: it’s available from £470/£550 SIM-free, significantly less than the new 5S model (if not particularly cheap by smartphone standards). That means, for the first time, that iPhone-seekers on a budget can opt for a brand new model rather than looking at the previous generation for savings.
We’re getting some hands-on time with the iPhone 5C now, so stay tuned for our first impressions.
Sam Kieldsen
Contributor 
